Original Paint Datsun 510 pics ?

[510rob]

CPR

[Robb]

BUMP

[edekalil]

[Robb]

Campus Nissan 1972 Datsun 510 at the show that was originally purchased that same year by longtime Victoria resident Sadie McArthur. She traded this Datsun 510 in at Victoria Nissan in the late ’80s as she needed a vehicle with power steering.
16,000 miles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhuFqf5yzeE

[zspert]

Very interested in finding out if the factory painted the vertical sheet metal, mostly radiator core support, behind the grille flat black after the car was painted as per the Z cars. Doing a ground up, nuts and bolt, restoration to mostly stock and want to keep on top of the small details. After looking at a host of pictures on this site I think the answer is yes, just not completely sure enough to get the flat black ready. Also, There was also some flat black on the engine side of my rad core support but don't know if this was factory. HELP! Pictures would be a HUGE help. Thank you

[TheDman]

Yes, the front of the core support surrounding the radiator opening was painted black from the factory. I believe they did this to hide the structure behind the grille which would otherwise show through and detract from the looks of the front end. Here's a photo showing one of the best examples I have ever come across of the black painted area. This is the original BRE #46 510 in the BRE shop. The stock 510 has been stripped in preparation for its transformation into a race car, and you can clearly see the black paint around the radiator opening. I believe that is John Knepp in the foreground, and possibly George Brittig behind him. I don't believe the black paint on the engine bay side of yours is original, as one of my 510s is still in original paint and the back side of the core support is body colored.

BRE46_510_CoreSupport_BlackedOut.jpg (222.19 KiB) Viewed 1030 times

[zspert]

Thank you VERY much DMAN. The picture you posted is golden and confirms what I thought about this subject. Also, your comment about flat black on the engine side of the core support is beyond helpful. Based on the picture you posted one can see that the flat black treatment is very much like the treatment Z cars received and which I employed in my many Z restorations.
I will simply apply the flat black with a 1 inch foam brush and, as per the factory, not be too neat about applying it! However, I think I'll tape off the holes so black won't bleed into the engine side. If we look carefully at the BRE pix it looks like the black was applied with the radiator in place. Note the white surrounding the rad bolt holes.
I find it interesting to note that the door jamb ID plate is still in place - wonder if it remained in place through the racing life of this 510.
Got my first load of zinc back but don't know how to post it on this reply??
OK, another question - I know that the headlamp bowls were yellow zinc from the factory but was the stamped sheet that the bowls are secured to also yellow zinc or black?
Thank you again, Mike

[ostaylor]

During my restoration, I asked about the buckets and backing plates and was told both should be zinc. That's what I did and they look great.

To attach pictures, you have to go to the Full Editor and add the image files you want to include (up to 10 pictures per post). The tricky part is that the images have to be reduced in size before you can attach them. I think the maximum is 500-700kb. If you use Windows, the image viewer that opens when you double click an image file has the ability to reduce the image size. You click the three dots in the top, left menu and the drop down menu has an option to "resize image" I use the "percentage" option with 40% and if that doesn't shrink it small enough, you can also reduce the image quality from 80% to 50%. I save all my small images to a dedicated folder for my 510 Realm posts so they are easy to find when I am posting.

Good luck and lets see some pictures!

[zspert]

Hello ostaylor,
I'm giving it a shot - wish me luck. Mike

[ostaylor]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing.